S.Korea court upholds $873-mln antitrust penalty for Qualcomm
SEOUL, Dec 4 (Reuters) - A South Korean court on Wednesday upheld a record fine of $873 million for U.S. chip giant Qualcomm, imposed by the Asian nation's antitrust watchdog in 2016 over unfair business practices.
Seoul High Court's presiding judge Noh Tae-ak said in a ruling that Qualcomm abused its dominant market position, as a reason for upholding the regulator's penalty.
It was not immediately clear whether either side would appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) levied the fine, a record for South Korea, on Qualcomm in 2016, for what it called unfair business practices in patent licensing and modem chip sales. The company challenged the decision in court.
Qualcomm is a top chip supplier to South Korean smartphone makers Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics . (Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Writing by Ju-min Park; Editing by Stephen Coates and Clarence Fernandez)
